InsiliCardio · Image-based High-resolution In-silico Modeling of Total Cardiac Function

Image-based High-resolution In-silico Modeling of Total Cardiac Function

OVERALL OBJECTIVES Our objective was to develop the most advanced biophysically detailed in-silico model of total electro-mechano-fluidic function of the heart. This model was parametrized, verified, and used to study cause-effect relationships between flow and pressure and their impact upon pumping performance. A novel set of features such as combined models of both heart and attached outflow vessels and the computational efficiency provides a unique platform for translational research. This ambitious endeavor was feasible only by combining the expertise of the applicant in modeling soft tissue mechanics and his supervisors in modeling electrophysiology (Gernot Plank, MUG) and blood flow (Shawn Shadden, UC Berkeley). Clinical input and datasets for model parametrization and validation were provided by Titus Kühne (DHZ Berlin) and by clinical collaborators of Prof. Shadden at UCSF. During the return-phase, the applicant used the infrastructure of Prof. Plank’s lab and the large network of academic and industrial collaborations as an incubator for building up his own research group by starting an tenure track position in the field of computational hemodynamics and biomechanics at the Medical University of Graz. CONCLUSION OF THE ACTION A unique biophysically detailed and anatomically accurate model of total heart function was developed that allows the computer simulation of bidirectionally coupled electo-mechano-fluidic models of cardiac function. This was achieved by developing novel methodology which enables these multi-physics simulations at an unprecedented level of biophysical and anatomical detail. The unique in-silico framework was validated by comparison to clinical data provided by our clinical partners and allows to accurately predict the electromechanical response of heart and aorta to changes in afterload in terms of tissue and wall shear stresses. In particular, this action addressed the following objectives: i) Postprocess cardiac image data using semi-automatic algorithms; ii) Simulate cardiac and vascular hemodynamics with short simulation cycles based on a massively parallel computing approach; iii) Model the bidirectional interaction between blood flow and tissue deformation to quantify the impact of flow upon heterogeneity in mechanical loading; iv) Validate and parameterize the biophysically detailed electro-mechano-fluidic model with patient-specific data.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union